Tomb of St James Found (c. 820–830): The Origins of Santiago

The tomb of St James the Great was identified in Galicia, in north-western Spain, in the early 9th century, during the reign of King Alfonso II of Asturias. Tradition dates the discovery to 813, but historians usually place it in the 820s or early 830s. The church built over the tomb grew into the city of Santiago de Compostela, and the pilgrimage to it became one of the great religious journeys of medieval Europe.

Background: St James and Spain

James, son of Zebedee, was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus and the brother of John. According to the Acts of the Apostles, he was executed in Jerusalem by King Herod Agrippa I around AD 44, the first apostle to be martyred. The New Testament says nothing of any link with Spain.

The idea that James had preached in Hispania first appears in Latin texts of around 600, such as the Breviarium Apostolorum. In the late 8th century, a hymn associated with the monk Beatus of Liébana, in the Christian north of the peninsula, called James the golden head of Spain and its protector. Later legend added that his disciples had brought his body by boat from Jerusalem to the coast of Galicia and buried it inland.

At this time most of the Iberian Peninsula was ruled by the Muslim emirate of Córdoba. The small Christian kingdom of Asturias had survived in the northern mountains since the Battle of Covadonga in about 722 and was slowly expanding into Galicia.

What happened

The earliest detailed accounts of the discovery date from the 11th and 12th centuries, including a document of 1077 known as the Concordia de Antealtares and the Historia Compostellana. According to these, a hermit named Pelagius (Pelayo) saw lights or a star shining over a wood called Libredón. He reported this to Theodemir, bishop of the nearby see of Iria Flavia, who investigated and found a tomb, which he declared to be that of the apostle James and two of his disciples.

King Alfonso II, who ruled Asturias from 791 to 842, travelled from his capital at Oviedo to see the tomb. He ordered a small church built over it and gave it lands, and he has traditionally been called the first pilgrim. A community of monks was set up nearby to serve the shrine.

Bishop Theodemir is a real historical figure. His tombstone, recording his death in 847, was found during excavations beneath the cathedral in 1955. This helps confirm that the shrine was established within his lifetime, broadly in the first half of the 9th century.

Why the discovery mattered

For Alfonso II and his successors, the tomb of an apostle brought immense prestige. Only Rome, with the tombs of Peter and Paul, could claim a more important apostolic burial in western Europe. The shrine strengthened the authority of the Asturian kings and the Galician church, and helped tie Christian Iberia to the wider Latin world of the time, including the newly revived empire of the Franks after the coronation of Charlemagne.

Historians have also seen the shrine as part of a growing Christian identity in opposition to al-Andalus, although the image of James as a warrior saint came later.

Growth of the shrine and the pilgrimage

The first church was soon too small. In 899 King Alfonso III dedicated a larger church. Pilgrims from abroad began to arrive, and in about 950–951 Bishop Godescalc of Le Puy in France made the journey, one of the earliest recorded foreign pilgrims.

In 997 the Córdoban general al-Mansur (Almanzor) raided Santiago and destroyed much of the town and church, though he is said to have spared the tomb. Rebuilding followed, and in 1075 work began on a great Romanesque cathedral; see Santiago de Compostela Cathedral. By the 12th century Santiago was one of the three great pilgrimage destinations of Christendom with Rome and Jerusalem. The Codex Calixtinus, compiled around 1140–1160, contains a guide for pilgrims on the routes through France.

Key people

• Alfonso II of Asturias (c. 760–842): King from 791, who moved his court to Oviedo and resisted raids from al-Andalus. He sponsored the first church at the tomb and is remembered as the first royal pilgrim.
• Theodemir (died 847): Bishop of Iria Flavia, the old Galician see near the coast at modern Padrón. He is credited with recognising the tomb, and later bishops moved their seat to Santiago.
• Pelagius (Pelayo): A hermit who, according to later accounts, first saw the lights over Libredón. Nothing else is known of him, and his role may be partly legendary.
• Alfonso III of Asturias (reigned 866–910): King who replaced the first modest church with a larger basilica, dedicated in 899.

What archaeology shows

Excavations beneath the cathedral between 1946 and 1959 revealed that the site had been used long before the 9th century. Archaeologists found remains of a Roman-era settlement and a cemetery that continued in use into the Suevic and Visigothic periods, with burials from roughly the 4th to the 7th centuries. Among them was a small Roman mausoleum, which many scholars think is the structure identified as the apostle’s tomb.

These findings do not settle whose body lay in the mausoleum. Some writers have suggested it was a revered local figure, and the 4th-century bishop Priscillian, executed for heresy in 385 and possibly buried in Galicia, has occasionally been proposed, though there is no firm evidence for this theory. What the excavations do show is that the shrine grew on an older sacred burial ground.

Myths and facts

• Myth: The tomb was found in 813. Fact: This date comes from later tradition; most historians place the discovery between about 820 and 830.
• Myth: “Compostela” certainly means “field of the star”. Fact: That is a popular explanation; many scholars think it comes from a Latin word for a burial ground.
• Myth: St James appeared at the Battle of Clavijo in 844 to lead the Christians to victory. Fact: The battle and the vision are later legends, first recorded in the 12th century and linked to a forged charter.
• Myth: The remains are proven to be those of the apostle. Fact: There is no way to confirm this; the claim rests on faith and tradition.

Later history of the relics

In 1589, fearing an attack on Galicia by the English fleet under Francis Drake, the cathedral clergy hid the relics. Their location was forgotten until excavations in 1879 uncovered bones behind the high altar. In 1884 Pope Leo XIII, in the bull Deus Omnipotens, declared them to be the authentic remains of James and his disciples.

Since the late 20th century the Camino de Santiago has revived dramatically. It was named the first European Cultural Route by the Council of Europe in 1987, and hundreds of thousands of people now walk it each year, for religious, cultural and personal reasons.

Timeline

• c. AD 44: James is executed in Jerusalem.
• c. 600: Latin texts first claim James preached in Hispania.
• 791: Alfonso II becomes king of Asturias.
• c. 820–830: Bishop Theodemir identifies the tomb; Alfonso II builds a church (traditionally 813).
• 847: Death of Bishop Theodemir.
• 899: Alfonso III dedicates a larger church.
• 997: Al-Mansur sacks Santiago.
• 1075: Construction of the Romanesque cathedral begins.
• 1879: The hidden relics are rediscovered.
• 1884: Pope Leo XIII declares the relics authentic.

Why it matters

The identification of St James’s tomb turned a remote corner of Galicia into one of Europe’s great holy places. The pilgrimage it inspired carried people, ideas, art and trade across the continent for over a thousand years and still draws walkers from around the world today.